Trials and Tribulations
by TardisOwner
Summary: After we saw Percy at the end of Son of Neptune, we thought all was well. Unfortunately for Percy, the gods have something very different in mind. This is not a story of happy memories... but a story of trials and tribulations. NOT SLASH! 11/30/2012-I've UPDATED! About time, right?
1. I Percy

*A/N – Hello everyone! I am new here in this crossover world, so treat me kindly! _Dozō yoroshiku onegaishimasu!_ Also, for those of you who have read this before and are now going, "What? Wait a second—I thought this part went like _this_," I would like you to know that I edited this for various reasons: being unable to continue on the current storyline being the main one. Oh, and if you haven't read _Son of Neptune,_ I recommend that you do before reading this crossover fic. This takes place right at the end of _SoN_, and I mean _right at the end._ Anyway, enjoy the revamp of this story. I do not own this material; rights go to Rick Riordan and J. K. Rowling. Nice to meet you all! ~Tardis*

Percy

Percy was having an off day, even before he was covered in green slime. Just thinking back on it made his brain hurt. It wasn't as if he deserved to be thrown around like a kid in DHS, but that seemed to be all that happened to him anymore. '_Here, Percy! Go to the Roman camp! They'll be friendly!' 'No, go to the crazy Hecate place! We _kinda_ promise you won't die!'_ He vaguely wondered if his life would ever be normal, even for demigod standards.

It all started with a seemingly harmless step forward. Percy, still in his new praetor clothes, was walking side-by-side with his new friends, Hazel and Frank. His half-brother Tyson was running ahead of them, excited. Why? Because after eight months, Percy would be getting his old life—his old friends—back. Still, he was nervous. Octavian and Reyna had backed him into a corner and he knew it. All of his hope was riding on the Romans and the Greeks getting along, which may or may not happen. However, all of his insecurities and fears were washed away by the overwhelming feeling of happiness. He was going to see Annabeth. He knew her for sure now. He knew her tastes, her likes, her dislikes, her feelings… and he so wanted to see her face. But he wouldn't. No, he _had_ to take that stupid step forward and fall through the ground.

Percy was now floating through darkness. It wasn't a new feeling, per say, but it was definitely disorienting. It wasn't exactly like he was shadow-traveling—in fact, he wasn't even moving. He felt his feet firmly planted on a surface, but he just couldn't see anything for his feet to be on. He was standing on air. A thousand candles floated around him, reflecting like there were mirrors everywhere while the occasional green or pink meteor shower flew past him a thousand different times. He was once again in his orange t-shirt and jeans, but they no longer looked as though they had gone through a nuclear war zone. The Camp Half-Blood logo he knew to be on his t-shirt was still faded beyond recognition, but it was as though he had just woken up in the Wolf House. However, this was definitely not the Wolf House.

After a few moment of contemplating if this was what astronauts felt like in space, Percy was finally greeted by the worst sight in his life.

June, the thousand-year-old hippie.

Okay, so maybe she looked a little better. Trash bags no longer covered her clothes and her hair was a lot darker brown, her skin a lot less wrinkled. She still seemed like a hippie, though, with her blue muumuu dress and animal skin bomber jacket. However, the malice behind Percy's internal monologue was just when considering who exactly he was talking to.

"Lady Juno," Percy said.

The goddess smiled. "Well done, Percy Jackson. I would have never imagined your quest would be so successful."

Something about the goddess' tone made Percy a little on edge. It was almost sarcasm, and from experience, Percy knew that gods and sarcasm usually didn't mix.

"Um… where am I?" he asked, paying close attention to her reaction.

She seemed to tense, but didn't get to answer his question. Instead, footsteps could be heard on some form of floor as a new woman entered the space. She wore a dark suit and robe over that. Her caramel-colored hair was tied in a plait down her back. Her eyes—a startling neon green color—stared straight into Percy's. The most notable feature about her, though, was the cat-like look about her face.

"Percy Jackson… so nice of you to join us," she said at length after her stilettos settled.

"Lady… Hecate?" Percy guessed.

The goddess smiled. "Correct, Percy."

There were about a thousand questions circulating in Percy's head, but he settled on "What do you want?"

"Patience, Percy. Everything will reveal itself in time, but right now you have a job to do."

She said it as if the fact that Percy was now floating among a million candles instead of being at Camp Jupiter was only minor problem.

"Well, I can't exactly do that until I get out of… what exactly is this place?" he asked.

An amused smile turned the corners of Hecate's cherry-red lips. "It doesn't really matter where you are. The point is, your request was approved."

Percy quickly went through the past few months in his head, but was drawing a blank. He didn't remember asking anything of a goddess, much less one he'd never seen before. "What request?" he asked.

"The request to get the eight months of your life back, obviously. My cousin told me the whole story and agreed to give those eight months to me," Hecate said flippantly.

"Hang on a sec," Percy said angrily. "I thought you wanted me to unite the Greeks and the Romans. What, did you just suddenly decide the fate of the world could wait eight months? What do you think the Greeks will assume when I'm suddenly not there? Or the Romans?"

"I warned you about your temper, Jackson," Juno spoke this time. "I would have thought you'd be happy. Besides, it's not like everything we've accomplished up till now is for nothing. As long as you don't die on this quest, you will see your precious daughter of Athena and all will be as it was before you came."

It took all of Percy's self-control to not slap Juno. After all the stunts she had pulled with not only his life but the lives of most of his friends, this was how she was going to make things better? After a deep breath and count of three, Percy spoke again. "And you didn't tell me this last night because…?"

It was Hecate's turn to answer Percy's questions. "I was just informed of this new problem this morning. So, do you want the eight months back or not?"

Percy thought about their offer. It was way too good to be true. The more he thought about it, the more he realized he probably didn't have a choice. After all, in Juno's defense, he had chosen the harder path, rather than the easy one.

"Alright, fine. I'll do it. Now what is it you want me to do?"

At this answer, Hecate's eyes brightened considerably. Now they were almost casting their own light. "That was a good answer, Percy. I want you to get back something that was stolen from me: my torches. Get them back by June 24th, and you can have your old life back," she explained.

"Okay. Where are they?" Percy asked impatiently.

"Somewhere in England. One of my least favorite legacies has them. I need you to assimilate into the world of my children in order to get it back. If they found out the source of my power was missing, chaos would reign. I don't need that now.

"If this legacy succeeds in his plans, the only one who could stop him will die, and we don't want that. If no one is there to stop him, he could then in turn use his power to destroy both camps."

Percy took all of that in. "So how exactly do you want me to 'assimilate'?"

Hecate paused as another smile lit her face. "I need you to attend a special school for my children. However, these children of mine are legacies from so far back, they do not remember where their magic came from. That truth has been lost to them. The idea of demigods of any kind may lead to mass panic. Tell no one of your parentage or of your mission, including the most important part: Protect Harry Potter with your life. Befriend him, become his enemy, I don't really care which. Just make sure he lives to see June 24th."

"I'm going to a school? For special Hecate kids?"

"Yes, Percy. I will give you their powers until June 24th. After that, you're on your own."

"And how exactly am I supposed to use your powers?" he asked. Seriously, from what Percy remembered, the Hecate kids had power that Percy didn't even want to _know_ about—his time as a guinea pig notwithstanding.

With a small smile and a snap of her fingers, the world around Percy began to fade to smoke. Juno had completely disappeared, leaving only Hecate, and she too was becoming a wisp of vapor. "You're going to a school, child. They'll teach you…" was the only answer Percy would receive.

Finally, the world gave way completely to a train station. Before him was a bright red engine with gold and black lettering. The thing was seriously cool and totally straight out of the nineteenth century, and that was a son of Poseidon talking. Kids and parents were all milling around the train, loading things like pets, trunks, backpacks, and of course, the kids themselves. They looked to be all between sixth grade and seniors in high school. The train issued a warning whistle and the crowd became a little more frantic in their loading endeavors.

Percy looked down and discovered a duffle bag at his feet. It looked like your standard Nike bag, but instead of the strange check-mark-like logo was a monogram of two torches crossed in an 'x'. Shrugging, Percy picked up the bag (which was seriously heavier than he expected) and loaded himself onto the train.

Inside, the train resembled old passenger cars with different compartments, several seats a piece. However, he seemed to have gotten there a little late: most of the compartments were full. He kept muscling past kids. He wasn't really sure where to sit himself. He stumbled around from car to car, weaving in and out of groups of students, until he heard some relief.

"Come on, Harry. If we get a move on, we might be able to save them some seats."

Harry? As in Harry Potter? Percy sincerely hoped he had heard the name right and began to go in the direction he heard the girl. It wasn't until he filtered into the last car that he realized who must have spoken. All the way at the back, a girl with bright red hair that could probably match Rachel's was getting into a compartment along with two boys, both around Percy's age. To Percy's relief, they didn't slide the door closed.

"Hey, is there still room?" Percy asked. The compartment was mostly empty, so there obviously was. Besides the trio, only a girl with platinum blond hair sat in the corner by the window.

"I guess so," the redheaded girl said with a shrug. Percy quickly slipped in and threw his duffle bag on the floor. He'd have to go through it later when no one was watching. After all, Percy definitely didn't trust anything a god gave him anymore.

He decided to take a seat by the window, next to a kid with dark hair and glasses. There were dark circles under his eyes and he looked really angry. On his forehead was a strange scar shaped like a lightning bolt. Just looking at the thing made Percy's internal radar go nuts, but he didn't say anything.

"So um… have a good summer, Luna?" the red headed girl spoke again. This time, it was to the blond. Even with his dyslexia, Percy could tell she was reading the magazine upside down. Maybe she had dyslexia too, Percy thought. There was a stick stuck behind her ear and she wore radish-shaped earrings. All in all, this girl was very strange, even for demigod standards.

"Yes, it was quite enjoyable, you know," the blond replied in a very dreamy voice. Finally, she looked right into the eyes of the bespectacled teen. "You're Harry Potter."

The kid's jaw clenched. "I know I am," he snapped.

Percy wasn't really sure what got this Potter kid's toga in a twist, but he felt his reply was a little too clipped to be socially acceptable.

However, the other boy in the compartment didn't seem to think Harry was rude at all. In fact, he began to snicker just a little. The atmosphere became a lot less tense. The boy was the same age as Harry with a round face like Frank.

"And I don't know who you are," Luna said to the boy. His face fell.

"I'm nobody," he replied quickly.

The red haired girl rolled her eyes. "No you're not," she sighed. "Neville Longbottom—Luna Lovegood. Luna's in my year, but in Ravenclaw." She turned to Percy. "And who are you?"

"Oh, I'm Percy. Percy Jackson. Nice to meet you…. Um…?" he replied quickly.

"Ginny Weasley," she supplied the name. "Nice to meet you too."

"You're from America," Luna spoke to Percy.

Percy blanched. "Uh, yeah… yeah I am."

Ginny giggled at the boys' discomfort as Luna hid once again behind her magazine. The train ride continued on in silence for the most part. Percy took to looking out the window, hoping not to disrupt any normal conversation, but it seemed no one was comfortable talking around Luna anyway. Out the window, the countryside passed by with little towns and whatnot spread out sporadically. The journey started out sunny, but it soon became overcast, as if just Percy being there wasn't a bad omen enough.

After quite a while, Neville spoke up. "Guess what I got for my birthday?"

"A toad?" Percy guessed quietly, thinking of the amphibian in Neville's hand. He apparently wasn't quiet enough, as everyone heard him.

"No, I've had Trevor for years. Look at this!" And with that, he pulled out a cactus. Well, at least it looked kind of like a cactus. There were boils all over it and it was grey, two things cacti are usually not. However, it did not sate Percy's curiousity.

"Mimbulus mimbletonia," Neville said proudly. "It's really, really rare! I doubt there's one in the greenhouse at Hogwarts, even. I can't wait to show it to Professor Sprout. My great-uncle Algie got it for me in Assyria. I'm going to see if I can breed from it."

Harry finally broke his angry demeanor. "Does it—er—do anything?" he asked. Percy had wondered the same thing. His internal radar was pinging again; this time in warning. He wanted to be anywhere else.

"Loads of stuff! It's got an amazing defense mechanism! Here—hold Trevor for me," Neville said as he handed his toad to Harry. Percy's demigod reflexes were starting to make him fidget. He needed to get out that compartment. Now.

Neville took out a stick, much like Luna's, and gave the cactus a sharp poke.

That's when Percy's day reached an all-time low. He would have taken on just about anything rather than the green slime that found its way all over him and his clothes and his duffle bag. Somewhere, Juno was probably laughing her godly butt off watching Percy wipe the goo off his face and glare daggers at Neville.

"S-sorry! I haven't tried that before! Didn't realize it would be quite so… don't worry though! It's not poisonous—" Neville gasped. Good thing too, Percy thought as Harry spit some of the gunk out of his mouth, or Percy's quest would be one short trip.

It was at that moment that a new girl joined the group. She was tall and pretty with Asian features and long black hair. "Hi Harry… oh, bad time?"

Harry looked mortified. He managed to get a "hello" out, though, and Percy couldn't deny Harry earned some points for that. If Annabeth had seen Percy like that, he probably would have just put his foot in his mouth for fear of embarrassing himself even more.

"Um… well, I just thought I'd say hello… bye then," she immediately closed the door to the compartment.

Ginny thankfully (with the help of some pretty helpful magic) managed to get rid of all the slime and the smell with a flick of her stick. After a few more apologies from Neville, the group lapsed into silence again.

This crazy world of these so-called "witches and wizards" was way more to wrap your head around than the idea of thousand-year-old gods being real, or so Percy thought. At least everyone already knew a huge percentage of the old stories of Greece and Rome (thanks Homer). This was completely new and the exact opposite of what Percy had expected.

After a while, an old lady came by with a 'trolley' asking if they wanted some sweets. Percy grabbed something that resembled Twizzlers and found them to be satisfactory. It was about ten minutes after that a boy with red hair and freckles and a girl with bushy brown hair entered the compartment. The redhead threw himself down next to Ginny, who he bared a remarkable resemblance to.

"Thank goodness! I'm starved!" he said as he grabbed a 'chocolate frog' and downed it faster than Grover with an enchilada.

"Well, there are two prefects in fifth year from each house," the girl said haughtily. She sat down on the other side of Neville. "A boy and girl."

"Guess who got Slytherin?" the boy sneered.

"Malfoy," Harry guessed. The boy nodded and slipped back in the chair, eyes closed in exhaustion.

While Percy tried to figure out what a prefect was, the girl continued on listing who in their class got the honor.

"We're supposed to patrol the corridors every so often. And we can give out punishments if we find someone misbehaving. I can't wait to get Crabbe and Goyle for something…" the boy continued.

"You've been a prefect all of one day and you already are planning to abuse it?" the girl asked.

It was about that time when the boy noticed Percy. He looked cautiously from Harry to Ginny.

"Oh, Hermione, Ron—this is Percy Jackson. Percy, this is my brother Ron and Hermione Granger," Ginny said by way of introduction.

Percy waved half-heartedly. They half-heartedly smiled back.

"Are you a transfer student?" Hermione asked.

Percy wasn't really sure how to answer that, but was thankfully saved the trouble. The door once again slid open. This time, a skinny, pale boy walked in. He had this regal air about him that made Percy immediately detest him. That, and the entourage that flanked this newcomer. What were they, Percy wondered, Dumb and Dumber?

Before the pale boy even opened his mouth to speak, Harry had snapped at him. "What?" he asked hatefully.

The pale boy clicked his tongue. "Manners, Potter, or I'll have to give you detention."

"Shut up, Malfoy," Ginny said under her breath.

"You see, I, unlike you, have the authority to hand out punishments," the Malfoy boy continued.

"And who are you?" Malfoy asked. At first, Percy wasn't sure who this kid was talking to, but seeing as how Luna didn't make any introductions, it seemed as though it was directed at Percy after all.

"Nobody," he replied. He then cracked a small smile, remembering the time he retrieved the Golden Fleece…. Which reminded him of how much he missed Annabeth…

"Well, I am Draco Malfoy and if you know what's good for you, you'll stay away from people like Potter and Weasleby," he replied.

"Well, thanks, _Malfoy_, but I don't think I asked," Percy said, his words clipped.

There was a heavy tension in the compartment for a few moments. "I'd be careful, whoever-you-are… or you're likely to meet a very sticky end."

Percy had been through a lot in the past week: he'd gone on a quest, thought he was going to die a few hundred times, released Thanatos, fought a giant, became a praetor, and been vaulted into another quest. His nerves were a little shot, to say the least.

"Thanks for the info. You can leave now," he half-sighed.

The Malfoy looked at the occupants of the compartment hatefully before turning on his heel and marching out, his lackeys in tow.

The compartment had lapsed into complete and utter silence. Everyone, even Luna Lovegood, was staring Percy in the face, as if he really were some freak. Then…

"That was bloody brilliant—!"

"Ron!"

"—I can't believe you did that! The look on Malfoy's face!" Ron continued to rave about Percy standing up to Malfoy for about five minutes, although it became rather incoherent underneath Hermione's reprimands.

"Honestly, Ron! We'll be at Hogwarts soon. We had better change," Hermione said finally.

While everyone started to dig through trunks, Percy sifted through his duffle bag. There were about four pairs of slacks, button-ups, vests, and a huge cloak. Not to mention the addition of several ties, nectar and ambrosia, and a ton of books. Although he wasn't new to the whole 'school uniform' thing, he didn't have to like it. Percy wrinkled his nose unhappily as he got out the cloak like everyone else and threw it over the Camp Half-Blood t-shirt and jeans. Curiously, Percy checked his pocket. Riptide was there, as it should have been, but so was a stick, just like Luna or Neville's. It must be a wand, like on all those stupid movies, Percy thought as he slipped it back into his pocket.

Sure enough, they did arrive at a castle within only an hour of Hermione's warning. Getting off the train was as much of a pain as getting on it, Percy decided. Students seemed very lost, and Percy was no different. However, he was pretty sure that he wouldn't go wrong following Ginny and Hermione, so he tailed them until he reached 'the carriages.'

"Creepy," Percy muttered when he saw what was pulling the carriages.

'Hey, we didn't go around saying you were creepy, did we?'

Huge, spectral horses were staring him right in the face. The closest one winked a milky white eye at him. After a closer look, the horses really were more like pegasi, with huge leathery wings to match their leathery skin.

'You act as though we're the first thestrals to talk to you, my lord! Jeez, get out more often!'

Percy bit back the fact that they were in fact the first 'thestrals' he'd ever seen, but instead settled with a small salute. At that moment, Hermione glanced back at him and Percy was forced to scratch his forehead to cover up the fact he just greeted a couple of deathly-looking pegasi like old bros. Definitely not a usual thing to do.

"W-what are those things?" Harry practically squeaked.

"What things?" Ron asked, looking rather concerned.

"Those things… pulling the carriages!"

"What things pulling the carriages? Harry, the carriages pull themselves, like always," Ron said.

Harry looked unperturbed. "You mean you can't see them?"

Ron and Hermione exchanged glances that were not missed by either Harry or Percy. Suddenly, Percy was really glad he didn't step up and tell Harry he saw them too. Where Harry would just be a freak, Percy would probably be a freak and then get killed for it.

After a long silence, Harry joined Percy and the rest. However, while Harry was probably trying to figure out if he was crazy, Percy was wondering what the punishment was for being a demigod…


	2. II Percy

*A/N –So… I am really, _really_ sorry for the long wait. There really isn't a good excuse, unless the transition from high school to college counts… that, and I have a new job. Or really two… super busy. –sigh- Anyway, I'll keep this short and sweet so you can read and tell me what you think. Hopefully (fingers crossed) I'll update a little less sporadically in the next few months. I think this will pan out to about ten chapters, so I don't think you'll have to wait too long this time… Again, sorry. **I don't own anything.** ~Tardis*

Percy

Percy's first night in Hogwarts castle was eventful, to say the least. He was confronted with everything from Lares to singing hats to the strangest assortment of teachers Percy had ever seen. The feast was pretty cool, especially since Percy was so hungry. The Great Hall was a very interesting place, but there were all sorts of other cool things about the castle. Upon arrival to the castle, he was taken aside by a professor named McGonagall who was a stern-looking witch with a slight Scottish accent. She had him queue up with a bunch of 'first years' and he was then 'sorted' into his 'house,' which happened to be Gryffindor. The large table that included Harry, Hermione, Neville, and the Weasley siblings burst into applause. After dinner, he followed his house to their common room, which was pretty sweet. There were comfy couches and chairs everywhere, a big fireplace, and a bunch of friendly-looking people.

Percy's fellow housemates were giving Harry weird looks, but Percy got shuffled along by twins, who were apparently Ron's brothers, named Fred and George. He was introduced to so many people and asked so many questions, Percy had trouble thinking straight. He decided to be as vague as possible in order to protect his real identity, but he basically told the truth: that his aunt had sent him to Hogwarts as a kind of punishment. People seemed to be as friendly. He was a fifth-year, which was the equivalent (as far as Percy could tell) of a sophomore. It seemed appropriate, despite the fact that by age, he would be in sixth-year. At least he would be in the same year as his charge, Harry.

It was going on eleven at night when Percy finally got free of the twins and made his way wearily to his dorm. When he entered, Harry and Ron were nowhere to be seen, but there were two beds that the curtains were drawn around, which was the only plausible place they could be. Percy found an empty bed and saw that his duffle bag was sitting in front of it. Hearing snoring coming from Neville, Percy simply changed into some PJs and went to sleep, not bothering to really do anything in the way of unpacking. Maybe he was being spiteful, but he really was hoping he wouldn't be staying…

The next morning, Percy was awakened entirely too early for his liking. Despite being used to the odd hours of camp and quests, Percy had—for once—slept dreamlessly and fully and wasn't too happy about cutting that precious sleep short. He felt tired as he joined his group of Gryffindor acquaintances and followed them back down to the Great Hall for breakfast.

"What the heck does 'Double Potions' mean?!"

The entire group of Gryffindors looked at Percy like he'd just said he was a pink hippo.

"What?"

Ron's sister, Ginny, simply rolled her eyes. "Look, just stick close to Ron and Harry. They have the same schedule as you," she said as she dug into her food. Percy suddenly felt really stupid, but he muscled through breakfast and prepared for whatever horrible class History of Magic must be.

"I wish Fred and George'd hurry up and get those Skiving Snackboxes sorted…" Ron complained, but was quickly cut off by the appearance of the twins

"Do mine ears deceive me?" the first one asked as he sat on Ron's left.

"Hogwarts prefects surely don't wish to skive off lessons!" the other exclaimed.

Percy had no idea which one was which. He started to doubt if Hermione could tell the difference either.

"Look what we've got today!" Ron complained. He shoved his schedule at the twins.

"Fair point, little bro," said the first, scanning the other tables. "You can have some Nosebleed Nougat cheap if you'd like."

"Why's it cheap?" Ron asked suspiciously.

The twins smile reminded Percy of the Cheshire Cat. "Because you'll keep bleeding 'til you shrivel up; we haven't found an antidote for it yet."

Ron looked up at them with disappointment. "Cheers, but I think I'll take the lessons."

Percy smiled. He could practically see the twins painting a pineapple gold and throwing it to the snotty-looking girls at the last table to fight over.

"Well, that schedule does look terrible," Ginny said as she swiped the paper from Percy's hand.

"Yeah. I guess." He lowered his voice. "Umbridge teaches Defense Against the Dark Arts, doesn't she?"

Ginny's smile turned bitter. "Yeah. Can't imagine how awful that's going to be this year."

"'This year?' You mean she hasn't taught here before?" Percy asked. The conversation between the brothers continued, but Hermione seemed to be dropping in on Percy and Ginny's conversation. Over Ginny's shoulder, Percy could see the jerk blond kid, Malfoy, talking to a scary-looking teacher and pointing wildly in his direction.

"No. Didn't you know?" Ginny continued. She moved her head to the side to block Percy's view of Malfoy and raising her eyebrows, attempting to grab his attention again. "They say that the teaching post for Defense Against the Dark Arts is cursed. No one's been able to hold it for more than a year."

That was definitely good information to know. Percy was fairly sure now that Umbridge was a very suspicious character. Was she the reason for him being here? Was it her that was trying to kill Harry? Percy wasn't sure, but he was fairly positive he'd find out in class that day.

"—Anyway, it's a nightmare of a year, the fifth," the twins continued loudly enough for Percy and Ginny to drop their conversation.

"Yeah, but Fred and I managed to keep our spirits up somehow," the second twin continued.

"Yeah… you got what, three O.W.L.s each?" said Ron. Oh yeah, the O.W.L.s. Percy had already been informed of the terrible tests. It wasn't like end-of-the-semester exams were foreign to Percy, but these seemed to blow the S.A.T. out of the water.

"Yep," said the twin Fred, "But we feel our futures lie outside the world of academic achievement."

"I can certainly relate," Percy muttered…

History of Magic turned out to be dead boring, which sucked. Within fifteen minutes, Percy was asleep. He even had a little bit of a dream—or rather a memory of Annabeth, which put Percy in a pensive mood by the end of class.

"You really should try to pay attention," Hermione griped. Percy had been listening to her preaching for almost ten minutes while they descended into the dungeons—something that Percy was not looking forward to a) because he hated being underground and b) because it was called a 'dungeon.' He'd even run into the janitor, Mr. Filch, who'd told him that they kept old torture devices down there. Although that would be incredibly cool, Percy didn't want to see them first hand if they were used on him.

"I really did try, Hermione, but you should know that school really isn't my thing," Percy replied wearily.

They finally made it to the classroom. It reminded Percy of a biology lab, but instead of dissection kits, cauldrons were set up at the tables. The fluorescent lights were replaced by a hundred candles. There was a table at the back, which Hermione and Ron bee-lined towards. Percy and Harry followed. Percy sat down on barstools with the rest and set up their supplies for class.

"Well, you should still try…" Hermione sniffed.

Ron sent Percy a sympathetic look, which Percy nodded back at. After his cauldron was ready, he started to fidget. That wasn't a very auspicious sign.

The door to the room snapped shut and a tall figure stepped up to the front.

"Settle down."

The voice was cold, but unnecessary. Percy had a feeling Snape was the kind of teacher that was able to keep control of a class without any effort. With his pale skin, dark, greasy hair, and dark eyes, the man seemed to radiate discomfort, which Percy was all too familiar with. The presence of this man was so similar to the one left by Nico that Percy was almost positive this teacher was a descendant of Hades. How far back, though, Percy wasn't sure. His theory was given more evidence when Snape's gaze lingered on Percy's meaningfully, like he was trying to say "I know who you are." It was pretty creepy. That, and Percy recognized him as the teacher Malfoy had been talking to at breakfast. That didn't bode well at all.

"Before we begin the lesson," Snape continued, breaking eye contact with Percy and moving behind his desk, "I think it appropriate to remind you that next June you will be sitting an important examination. During which, you will prove how much you have learned about the composition and use of magical potions. Moronic though some of this class undoubtedly are, I expect you to scrape an 'Acceptable' in your O.W.L., or suffer my… displeasure."

While Snape's gaze lingered on Harry and Neville, Percy's mind was spinning in circles. What if Malfoy knew about demigods and had told Snape? What if Snape was a demigod too? Would that mean he would get in trouble? Percy wanted to go home so badly it ached, yet… leaving a job half-done was against his nature. As lazy and haphazard as he was with school work, Percy couldn't find it in him to leave Harry vulnerable.

Snape continued explaining what he was expecting from his class. Percy was fairly sure he was going to be a disappointment. Snape flicked his wand and directions appeared on the chalkboard for the "Draught of Peace," which sounded difficult to begin with. When Percy tried to read the directions, his heart sank. The small cursive handwriting of the Professor was way too difficult for Percy to read. He sat there for ten minutes, staring at the board and trying to de-riddle the first line, which looked suspiciously like 'they out an auction to biology…'

"What are you doing, mate?" Ron whispered. It kind of startled Percy, but he quickly recovered. "Are you trying to get a detention?"

"Do you need help?" Hermione asked. Suddenly, he was very thankful he sat between them.

"Can you read me that first line?" Percy asked. Hermione looked incredulous.

"Why? Can't you read it?" she asked. She stared at him as if he had told her he was wanted for terrorism or something.

"No," he replied. Then he whispered, "I'm dyslexic."

A wave of understanding swept through Hermione's face. Her mouth made a silent 'oh.'

The rest of class, Hermione graciously helped Percy through his potion. It was really hard. You had to stir it x number of times one way and then the other, let it simmer for exactly x number of minutes and add x number of ingredients. His ADHD was going berserk. Being underground didn't help any either. He kept feeling more and more claustrophobic, like he was in a huge pressure cooker. The fidgeting had become so bad that he accidentally kicked Hermione. If this was what college classes were like, Percy was fairly sure he wouldn't be attending… if he lived long enough for it.

By the end of class, his potion was giving off a light blue steam. Snape had said it was supposed to be silver, but then Percy doubted it was supposed to smell like sea water either.

He looked around the room. Hermione's potion looked exactly as Snape had said it should. Snape walked around to inspect, not even pausing at Hermione's cauldron. He did, however, at Harry's. Just because he missed one line of the directions, Snape made Harry's potion disappear, leaving him with no grade for the day. Percy thought that was a little harsh, considering the fact that one of Malfoy's cronies' potions was emitting green sparks and smelled like rotten eggs.

Then, Snape stopped at Percy's potion. "Well, well," Snape drawled lazily, "I suppose I should give you and Grainger zero points, then?"

Percy looked at Snape, wide-eyed and incredulous. "I will not tolerate cheating, Mr. Jackson. Never do that again."

Percy grudgingly poured his potion in a flask and turned it in on Snape's desk along with everyone but Harry. While Harry had to write an extra essay, it looked like Percy was going to get a detention.

All through his next class and lunch, Percy felt like a super spy from a James Bond movie. It was hard, trying to collect information while pretending that you belonged. However, almost everything about the wizarding world that he didn't understand he was able to blame on coming from America. Apparently he was right in the assumption that a lot of things were different from there to here. Other than his information gathering, however, the day was a real bore… at least until he got to Defense Against the Dark Arts.

Lunch was Harry-less, as Hermione and Ron's constant bickering drove him away. The entire Gryffindor table breathed a sigh of relief. Harry brought a couple tons of tension with him wherever he went. Being able to talk easily with Hermione and Ron, Percy started to ask questions that were picking at his brain, which was where the super spy stuff came in. He felt all the way through lunch that he should have been referred to as "007." He found out about the Triwizard Tournament, that it had gone horribly askew, and that Harry and Dumbledore were supposed nut cases. Although Percy could see where the rumors were coming from in regards to Harry (who had thus far acted like a more-paranoid version of Octavian), Dumbledore seemed incredibly sane—or, at least, sane by comparison.

Divination was more a joke than anything. Professor Trelawney was so obviously a fraud it made Percy smile. He took a seat next to Harry and Ron sat on Harry's other side. Their table was in the back, far away from the sickly-smelling fire and the professor. Ron cast a concerned glance at Percy. Percy was pretty sure he wasn't supposed to see it, but he did. Then Ron apologized to Harry for bickering with Hermione. Harry, for the most part, ignored him.

"Good day and welcome back to Divination," Professor Trelawney said in a misty, dreamy voice. "I have, of course, been following your fortunes most carefully over the holidays, and am delighted to see that you have all returned to Hogwarts safely—as, of course, I knew you would."

It was then that Trelawney turned her attention to Harry's table. She seemed to notice Percy for the first time. "I also have divined that a new student would be joining us this year, as indeed he has. Why don't you tell the class your name, dear?" she asked.

Percy had become mostly immune to stuff like this, but it didn't mean he liked it any more. "Percy Jackson." A few Slytherins in the opposite corner began to snicker. Apparently, their mutual friend Malfoy had been telling tales after all.

"Well, Mr. Jackson, I'm sure I speak for the whole class when I say that I hope you enjoy this year with us," she said sweetly.

Percy rolled his eyes and proceeded to zone out while the professor went on about something—dreams maybe? The room was getting to him just as much as the dungeons had. Despite the comfy chairs, the crystal balls in the corner and all of the creepy dead things hanging near the bookshelf made him a little uneasy. The glares from the Slytherins added to his feeling of apprehension. However, Percy's mind continued to drift further and further away from the conversation.

Actually, something _had_ caught Percy's fleeting attention—a small piece of rock was on the mantle of the fireplace. He could barely see it through all the smoke and haze, but he could have sworn there were Greek letters on the stone: Athena… something. The last word was too faded to make out.

He must have stared at the fireplace too long because Harry nudged him.

"What?"

Harry sent him a chilly glare. "Open the book. We're supposed to interpret each other's dreams."

Percy did was he was told, but mumbled, "I think the room just dropped ten degrees in here," a little too loudly.

Because there was an odd number in the class thanks to Percy, he ended up in a trio with Harry and Ron. Ron had the idea of having one person quietly read the introduction out loud to the other two. However, that did leave only about ten minutes left of class to interpretation.

"I never remember my dreams," Ron sighed as they began writing them down. "What about you, Percy?"

Percy wasn't really sure what to say. As a demigod, he always had dreams, although none of them were ever good. Most of the time, they showed something about the past or present. Sometimes, they showed the possible future. However, they were never clear as most gods could and did interrupt them.

"I never remember mine either," Percy quickly lied. Harry gave him a strange look but said nothing.

"What about being chased by a giant pair of scissors?" asked Harry. Ron apparently thought that was an excellent idea and jotted it down in his notebook.

"What do you suppose that means anyway?" Ron asked after he finished.

Harry shrugged. "Maybe it means you're going to be chased by a giant pair of scissors?" Percy supplied.

"Ha ha. Very funny," Ron muttered. Percy smiled and shrugged

"You asked."

The bell rang, but not before Trelawney assigned a dream diary as homework for the next month. This was something that Percy was not necessarily excited about. He could just image Professor Trelawney totally flipping when she read his: _September 3, I had a dream about my great-grandmother trying to kill me again…_ Yeah, that would go over really well. Percy shuddered at the idea of what wizard counseling would look like.

The boys were halfway down the spiral staircase when Percy realized something. He cursed.

"I forgot my bag!" Naturally he had left it in the creepiest classroom yet. Personally, he didn't want any more of a face-to-face conversation with Trelawney than he already had in class.

Harry and Ron offered to come with him to get it, but Percy refused. After all, Percy reasoned, it would be a pretty short conversation, if he had one with the professor at all.

He once again entered the Divination classroom. Trelawney was heating up a kettle on the fire. She was pretty preoccupied, which made Percy hopeful that he could sneak in and out without being noticed. He passed the fourth purple armchair and had reached his bag when he heard a gasp and a small crash. Spinning around, he saw Professor Trelawney picking up the books she'd knocked off her table.

"Oh, my dear, I didn't see you!" she squeaked.

Percy, shouldering his bag, put his hand behind his head. "Yeah, it's okay. Just getting this," he lifted the bag a little to show her.

She nodded and her eyes locked onto his, big and owlish with her glasses. There was an uncomfortable moment of silence as she continued to stare at him.

"Um, did you want to talk to me about something?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

She blinked and seemed to snap out of a daze, her clothing ruffling like a bird's feathers, making her more owlish than ever before. "No, no… carry on, my dear. I was just looking in The Beyond." '_Good to see she's back to normal_.'

While still unconvinced, Percy slowly backed out of the classroom, head cocked to one side. "See you later, Professor?" It sounded more like a question than a statement, but Percy took the opportunity to climb down the ladder and made his way towards his next class, shaking his head as he did so.

Unfortunately, the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom was harder to find than Percy had imagined. If he hadn't (literally) run into Harry, he doubted he would have found it at all. However, all through class, Percy's thoughts dwelled on Harry.

After a hurried conversation with Hermione, Percy gleaned that Harry had acted out and earned himself detention. Oh, and he was at least fifteen minutes late. Hermione didn't tell him everything though. _That_ much was certain. And when Percy saw Harry walking down the hall, he looked like he was somewhere between ready to kill and wanting to crawl into a ditch somewhere. His eyes were red—not from tears but from anger. His clothing was disheveled, as if he'd roughly yanked his tie loose and stomped out of a fight with a clothes rack. It worried Percy. Had Umbridge already tried to kill Harry?

Percy couldn't help stealing glances at the professor. The long, tall windows were open at the front of the room, casting a weak light on Umbridge's desk, which was raised on a platform. Spiraled stairs led up to a balcony and door beyond while a chalkboard stood off to the right. Cursive handwriting marked the slate, but Percy couldn't read anything besides the big "O," "W," and "L." Umbridge sat like a queen in her chair, staring occasionally across her adolescent subjects. While Percy had to admit she was creepy, she didn't look like she'd been in any form of scuffle. The students were too calm to allow his hypothesis either. In fact, she and her desk were meticulously groomed down to the last hair, the last pencil, the last sheet of paper—piercing, charcoal eyes surveying her stone and mortar kingdom…

It was unsurprising that Percy ended his evening walking around the lake. When they'd first arrived, he'd wanted to go exploring outside, but it was misty and dark and he was ushered away too fast. Now, however, in the dying light, he was free to sit at the bank and throw stones into the water. He hadn't seen a naiad yet, but he had heard something that sounded suspiciously like mermaids already. A giant squid made a ripple that broke the serene surface near the middle of the lake, but it simply winked at Percy and descended into the depths. Now, thin lines of pink and orange were broken by small waves that calmed his heart but not his mind.

Percy was pretty lost in his own thoughts until someone's voice brought him out of it.

"Are you alright, mate?"

The voice was slightly familiar as he looked at a boy he was pretty sure he shared a dorm with. _Dean, wasn't it?_ He was tall and slight of build, but his strong jawline and dark complexion made him look tough anyway. He stood, fists in his pockets, with a small smile on his face.

"Yeah, everything's cool," Percy replied. He really didn't feel all that bad, but his voice sounded a little disinterested, even to his own ears. Dean raised an eyebrow, but ignored the lie.

"Curfew starts pretty soon. You don't want detention on your first day." If Dean was a worrier, he didn't let on. In fact, he seemed a lot more chill than the trio he'd been hanging out with so far.

"'Kay. Thanks… Dean, right?"

Dean smiled. "Yeah." He walked back toward the castle.

Percy looked out across the water again, suddenly more homesick than he'd thought. This was crazy. He half-expected to wake up in the barracks at Camp Jupiter, but was slapped back to reality rather harshly instead. Slowly standing and dusting the grass off his back, Percy reluctantly took one last look at the place he so wanted to dive into and walked back to the castle feeling helpless…

*A/N – This ended a lot more melancholy than I wanted it to… oh, well. Tell me what you think! ~Tardis*


End file.
